


Signal

by Lady_Sci_Fi



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: Episode Related, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2017-11-02
Packaged: 2019-01-28 05:33:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12599320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Sci_Fi/pseuds/Lady_Sci_Fi
Summary: On the train ride back to Scotland in "Terror of the Zygons," Sarah learns just how the Doctor had sent that radio signal.





	Signal

Sarah followed the Brigadier, Harry, and the Duke into the small but plush train compartment that had been reserved for them for the way back to Scotland. It wouldn’t do for them to talk about the events that had just happened in a public car. Alistair pushed a small bag into the overhead compartment before taking a seat and started a quiet conversation with the Duke.

 Sarah didn’t plan on doing much talking if conversation started. It had been a long few days, and the hours-long ride provided a good opportunity to relax and sleep.

 Sarah turned to Harry, asking him how he was holding up from his head injury. At his affirmation that it was nothing to worry about, she turned back to what she had mentally claimed as hers. She couldn’t hold back the affectionate smile at the sight of the Doctor stretched out across the double seat row, his feet hanging over the side and his hat sitting on his face, obscuring it completely.

 “Doctor,” Sarah prompted. She bumped his leg with her knee.

 The Doctor lifted his hat up to look at her. “Yes?”

 “This is my seat,” Sarah stated in a light tone.

 The Timelord fished his ticket out of his trouser pocket and glanced at it. “Funny, I don’t see a name to a seat on this.”

 Sarah glanced to the double seat opposite. “I can’t sit backwards on trains. Makes me motion sick.”

 “That so?”

 “M-hm.”

 “So, you want me to move?” The Doctor flashed a toothy grin. “How about…” he pushed himself up until his upper back rested against the window, and kept his legs stretched out, his height still making him take up most of the seat.

 Sarah took the implied cue and sat in the small amount of empty space. Then the Doctor bent his outside leg up to let her scoot closer to him. Once she did, he laid his leg across her lap. He tossed his hat over to the opposite seats and took one of her hands in his.

 Sarah smiled at him before closing her eyes and tilting her head back.

 There was a lull in the conversation across the aisle, and Sarah couldn’t help the little smile when she heard Harry quietly say to Alistair, “Perhaps you should’ve reserved those two a compartment for themselves.”

 Alistair chuckled and responded, “Perhaps I should have.” He cleared his throat. “Doctor, before you get too relaxed, I do have a question for you.”

 “Only one?” the Doctor replied.

 “How did you manage to send that radio signal while you were trapped on the Zygon ship?”

 Sarah opened her eyes, also interested in the answer.

 “I can’t imagine any traditional way of jerry-rigging a signal from all that coral-looking stuff,” Harry said.

 The Doctor shrugged. “I’ve encountered organic technology before. Remember the Axons, Alistair?”

 “Ah, yes. Though I couldn’t make sense of exactly how their ship worked, either.”

 “So, how did you do it?” Sarah prompted.

 “Well… there were enough organic connections in my cell. Since I’m also an organic being, I was able to complete the circuit and send out that transmission.”

 “That’s it?” Alistair asked. “That simple?”

 “Not quite, but I could explain the whole process to you if you like.”

 Alistair gave a small smile. “I doubt I would understand all the details.”

 Sarah’s brow furrowed, and she looked to the man still holding her hand. “You mean you had energy from the ship going through you?” 

 “Yes, and it did give my hearts a nasty shock, but it all turned out well.”

 Sarah’s eyes widened. “What do you mean it gave your hearts a nasty shock?”

 “It was an electrical current, with quite a high voltage.”

 “Are you sure you don’t need a medical check-over after that?” Harry inquired.

 “I’m quite sure, Harry.”

 “How much electrical energy?” Sarah pressed.

 “I estimated only half-power from the ship. Even then I wasn’t sure if that would be lethal… it probably nearly was. I can certainly say it wasn’t the most pleasant way of sending a radio signal.”

 Sarah bit her lip at the flippant tone of the Doctor’s voice. She could feel a bead of anger rising in her. “You mean to tell me- tell us- that you purposely hooked yourself up to a massive electrical current that you didn’t know you could even survive?”

The Doctor looked directly into Sarah’s face. “It was the only way. Believe me, if there had been any alternative…”

 Sarah swallowed, that bead of anger in her wanting to say so much about how he was an idiot, how could he could do that to himself, because didn’t he understand how much he meant to her? Sure, it was selfish of her, but how could he risk his own life like that? Still… she believed him. He wasn’t suicidal, even if some of his plans could only succeed at great risk to himself. Saving the Earth from the Zygons was more important. She knew that. He did what he had to, like he always did, like they always did. The anger faded, though she was still left with worry.

“Inspired thinking, Doctor,” Harry complimented.

 That pulled Sarah out of her thoughts, and she added, “Yes, it was.” Then she thought back to the signal she, Alistair, and Benton had heard. There was something strange about it, which could be explained by the fact that it came from an organic instead of mechanical equipment. Still, something about it nagged at her, a familiarity about it. Then she realized what the regularity of the signal pulses had been. It was a beat she had heard and felt before, both in this Doctor and the previous one. A beat felt when her head had been against his chest.

 “Oh my god…” Sarah whispered. She heavily swallowed as she turned to the Doctor. “In the transmission… It was your heartsbeat.”

 The Doctor frowned. “I suppose that could have been sent through the connection.”

 “And then the signal suddenly stopped. I heard your heartsbeat stop…” Sarah’s lip quivered as her mind quickly raced through the emotions that she didn’t know to feel at the time.

 The Doctor, noticing a mass of emotions chasing each other across Sarah’s face, sat up completely and leaned forward to bring his hand to her cheek. “Sarah…”

 “I heard them stop, Doctor.”  Her hand tightened her hold on his.

 Neither the Doctor nor Sarah looked away from each other at Alistair’s clearing his throat and asking, “Anyone for tea?” Harry and the Duke took the hint, and joined him in leaving the compartment. It took a long moment after the door closed behind them for the Doctor to react.

 “I’m alright, Sarah.” The Doctor’s thumb stroked across the corner of Sarah’s mouth. “You can see that. My hearts didn’t stop for very long.”

 “Any time is too long for that.”

 “I can’t disagree with that. It wasn’t pleasant.”

 “I heard them stop, and I wasn’t there with you. You… you could’ve died, and I wasn’t there.”

 The Doctor brought Sarah’s hand to the left side of his chest. He held it there a few seconds, then moved it to the right side. “They’re both beating, Sarah.”

 Sarah nodded stiffly, still lost in the thoughts of what could have been, despite the steady beat under the palm of her hand.

 The Doctor took her other hand, so that both of them were pressed to his chest. He leaned in close, until their noses nearly touched. “They’re both beating,” he repeated. “Do you feel them?”

 After a moment, Sarah nodded, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

 “Yes, they stopped briefly, but they’re fine now. They’re as strong as they were before. Isn’t that what matters?”

 “Yes… yes it is.” Sarah suddenly needed to be closer to him, to feel that heartsbeat more intimately.

 Sarah’s head slid past the Doctor’s cheek. She pushed their hands down to his lap, and she pressed the side of her head to the center of his chest. She melted into his embrace as his arms wrapped around her and his chin rested on the top of her head. She could hear both hearts equally from this position, and smiled at the reassuring rhythm.

 Sarah felt the chuckle rumble in the Doctor’s chest before she heard it, as he asked, “Is that proof enough?”

 “Yeah… Though I don’t know what else you could do to prove it to me.”

 “I’m sure I could think of something.”

 “Shh… just let me listen for a bit.”

 The Doctor and Sarah were content to simply sit there like that for a few minutes, then the Doctor wordlessly leaned back and slid down until his upper back was against the window. He kept one arm around her back. Sarah resettled against him, wrapping one arm around his middle, and took hold of one of his hands. They both had closed their eyes, simply needing to feel each other’s life.

 A little while later, they heard the door open. There was only one set of footsteps. The Doctor greeted without opening his eyes, “Hello, Alistair.”

 “You two… you’re alright, then?” Alistair asked.

 “You all can come back in, if that’s what you’re asking.”

 “Oh, good to know I can be in the train compartment I reserved,” Alistair responded, with a teasing tone. “I’ll let Sullivan and the Duke know.”

 “Just keep your voices down,” the Doctor requested.

 “Right. Any food you want me to bring back for you?”

 Sarah shook her head slightly, and the Doctor verbalized, “We’re fine for now.”

 Sarah opened her eyes as Alistair turned to leave, and softly said, “Thanks, Brigadier.” It wasn’t only for the offer of bringing food. She noticed the warm expression on his face as he looked them over. He gave a curt nod and left.

 Her arm around the Doctor’s middle squeezed for a second as she closed her eyes. She felt the Doctor kiss the top of her head, and let out a content sigh. Her mind drifted under the spell of the Doctor’s heartsbeat in his chest, under her ear. It was a signal to her that he was fine, that despite having been interrupted earlier, he was still here with her.


End file.
